Arnold
Arnold is one of the main protagonists of Skagos. He was played by Ryan. He is a feared Demi-Totem with the power to convert the life of another soul into an undead similar to himself. He also has some incredible acrobatic skills. Before Skagos Arnold was in control of a legendary ship known as the Black Pearl. He quickly rose through the ranks and became a feared pirate. Pirates who were a part of his own crew were afraid of him. After controlling the seas for a few years, Arnold finally met his match. Rival Captain, Oxford Sully of the Booty Pirates would be the man to finally take down the Dread Pirate. It is unknown how, but Captain Sully managed to destroy the Black Pearl and Arnold's entire crew. Captain Sully kept Arnold around and tried to break him into becoming a loyal servant of the Booty Pirates, but he quickly learned that Arnold is not one to give in to servitude. In the port of Indigo City, a family of Wizards paid Captain Sully to take them on vacation to the tropical paradise of Mehnehneh. Arnold saw this as an opportunity as the charter course was dangerously close to Skagos, an island infamous for the mysterious sinking of ships. When the boat closed in on Skagos, Arnold started a mutiny alongside passengers Thozgar Bludgins, and Meg Chimaree. Unknown to Arnold, larger things were at play. The "Dark Powers", a sentient mist controlled by the weakened Totem, Vampyr, managed to influence the weak minded Meg Chimaree. Meg Chimaree gladly welcomed the power, and used them to cast a high level explosion spell that destroyed the Booty Pirates' ship, causing all of the surviving passengers to end up on the shore of Skagos including Arnold. The Mists of Skagos After initially landing in Skagos, Arnold was attacked by werewolves alongside his companions, Tenke Uzi, Beckwith Mackey, the Chimaree Sisters, and several others. They were rescued by Master Ottar & Froman the Great, who escorted them to the decrepit Village of Barovia, where they stayed at the Mayor's Manor. The next night, Arnold was at a tavern when the Djinni of the Nessie arrived. After drunkenly arguing with everybody, two vampires walked in and attacked Froman the Great. During this battle, Arnold hid behind the bar until the vampires retreated. The next morning, Arnold agreed to help escort Ireena to Vallaki in hopes to find a man named "Winston" who might be the key to escaping Skagos. Unfortunately for Arnold, the escort did not go as planned. His group was ambushed by Strahd and captured. Strahd revealed he had captured Arnold, Beckwith, and Tenke to the Djinni of the Nessie at a dinner party. As a show of dominance, he made the Djinni choose which of the three will die as punishment. The group remembered Arnold arguing with everybody the night before and agreed he deserves to die the most. Strahd then stabs Arnold, killing him in front of all of the entire party. But Strahd miscalculates Arnold. Arnold rises up and kills Strahd's vampire, revealing his Totemic Undead nature to the group. After saving the group, Arnold is viewed as redeemed. As the group runs throughout the castle to save Ireena, Arnold plunders Strahd's treasure along the way. After the group finds Ireena, an unfortunate series of events causes Ireena and Thozgar of the Nessie to fall off the castle. Arnold scales 150 feet down to the ground to rescue them, but his plan is foiled when Beckwith accidentally misses an arrow aimed for Strahd and kills Ireena. After this, Beckwith grabs Thozgar of the Nessie and Ireena's bodies and runs away while Strahd is distracted. Later the next morning, Arnold accompanies the remaining group to the Vistani camp and later to Old Bonegrinder Windmill. At the windmill, Arnold reveals his true power to the group, as he delivers the final blow to Bella, one of the hags haunting it. The hag rises up as a minion who must reluctantly serve Arnold. After the windmill, the group decides to head to Vallaki. They learn at the gate that only light or dark skinned humans are allowed to enter the town. This becomes a problem for Arnold as he has the appearance of a skeleton. But Arnold is able to convince the gate guards that he is indeed human, but just very ugly. Arnold successfully enters Vallaki with the group. In Vallaki, Arnold and Ivalia both discover Ricktavio, a traveling bard and his tiger. Arnold befriends him and learns that he knows Winston. After following him back to Winston's Inn Arnold meets Winston, but he does not turn out to be the all knowing prophet the group was expecting. Arnold accompanies the group to the safe haven for Ivalia, and learns that the artifact used to protect the church has been stolen. Arnold interrogates the suspect, Milivoj and learns that it is in a coffin shop. Arnold decides that his punishment for stealing the artifact is to join his crew. After getting the bones back, the group encounters Strahd, who murders the priest of the church in front of the group, but not before Arnold can convert him into an undead member of his crew. Strahd leaves the group to burn in Vallaki during the festival, Carnivale. At the festival, a woman named Fiona Wachter starts a mutiny and calls for the election of a new mayor. Unknown to her, Arnold steps on stage and challenges her. It is apparent that Arnold is the winner of the election, until Fiona's subjects begin murdering Arnold's supporters. The group decides to escape, but not before Thozgar of the Nessie can publically execute Fiona Wachter. Wachter's child, Nikolai witnesses these events and swears vengeance upon Arnold and Thozgar. After escaping Vallaki, the group goes to the Martikov Winery. There, Arnold finds a necklace that belonged to Strahd's mother. Soon after, Arnold goes with the group to confront Baba Lysaga, where Arnold finds both Tatyana's Diary and a "Roni Crystal" used to bring the witches hut to life. During the battle with Baba Lysaga, Tenke is killed. Arnold is very curious of the effects of his power with the Roni Crystal and uses it with his resurrection power to bring Tenke back to life. The power of the crystal is too much and causes Tenke to go blind, but Tenke's free will remains. During the final fight with Strahd, Arnold's now massive pirate crew attacks the wave of Vistani guarding the Castle. Thanks to his efforts, the group is able to make it in time to stop Strahd's wedding. In the castle, Arnold sends his crew to plunder everything while they take care of Strahd. During the final fight, Arnold gets frustrated that his Totemic intimidation is working on Strahd. But eventually the group prevails, and escapes Skagos. It is revealed that Arnold had his crew jump through the portal before the final fight, sell the treasures, and buy a ship. After escaping Skagos, the group is picked up by Arnold's crew and his new ship. As a thank you to his new friends, Arnold offers to drop off the group off back at the Indy Isles for free. Arnold's Crew Arnold has several members of his crew. Current Crew Members - Izek "The Red Hand" Strazni - First Mate - Bella of the Bonegrinder Coven - Quartermaster - Father Lucien Former Crew Members - Milivoj - Killed by Arnold for being incompetent after escaping Skagos. A Hearty Heist Arnold is confirmed to appear as the antagonist of this campaign. The Celestial Cataclysm Arnold is confirmed to appear as a recurring character during this campaign, which in turn confirms he survives during "A Hearty Heist". Trivia * Arnold was unanimously voted the party's favorite character. * Ryan has stated he is planning a one-off campaign in which the team will be members of Arnold's crew.